Luckiest Man in the Universe
by Leighawen
Summary: S/J established. Cliché proposal fic. Pure fluff with a tiny bit of humor.


Jack O'Neill was sitting alone at a table for two in a fancy Italian restaurant

**Disclaimer-** I don't own Stargate SG-1 or any of it's characters.

Jack O'Neill was sitting alone at a table for two in a fancy Italian restaurant. The only thing keeping him calm was his black opts training. He almost smiled at the thought that he was completely calm when Jaffa ambushed them or when they were captured with little chances of escape, but here, now, waiting for Sam to show up, he was keeping his mind on _not shifting_ in his seat every ten seconds.

Eight months. They had been an 'item' for eight months. Thankfully they were both allowed to remain on SG-1, no one was stupid enough to split up the best team in the galaxy.

Working together and being a couple was easier than either of them thought it would be. At work Sam respected the chain of command and knew that she couldn't control Jack using her influence as 'the girlfriend'- not that she even wanted to. Sam could never imagine using Jack's feelings for her like that. It would be sick and wrong.

Jack also was able to make command decisions without his feelings for his 2IC getting in the way and without him being overprotective. Part of that was because if he _tried_ Jack was sure Sam would kill him slowly and painfully. Carter was tough and SG-1 wouldn't be the same without her, she was needed in the field and Jack trusted her abilities. Another part of it was he would be angry at _himself_ because Carter deserved more respect than that.

Working together for years had made sharing things with each other easier. Really they knew that, if it were not for SG-1, they probably wouldn't be together. Being on a team that was like your family had started their friendship, and their connection had grown slowly into 'something more'.

Jack and Sam knew one another so well that they could pick up each other's signals and communicate without words- just like the rest of SG-1. The team had made the connection, their relationship just made them go deeper.

It was sometimes hard for Jack to share his feelings, it always had been. He was military and his bravado mask had been built up over the years. Working with SG-1 had made him loose the mask slowly, but it was still difficult to _talk_ about feelings. Jack was so grateful for Sam, who knew about the military and how hard it was to take off the mask that they hid behind. It was easier for Sam, who hadn't done the things he had.

Samantha Carter was a blessing. The woman was so patient with him, so understanding. He didn't deserve her, Jack knew that. But for some insane reason she loved him. And he was going to propose.

Tonight. Here, in this Italian restaurant where they had their first date he was going to ask the woman of his dreams to marry him. He knew the owner and everything was set.

Except for the fact that his beautiful blond genius major wasn't here. But she would be. She would. Jack knew that, his nerves were just frazzled.

_**Breathe **__Jack_, he thought to himself. _You are going to ask Carter to marry you and she is going to say yes. So __**Breathe.**_

The thought of breathing was taken away as Major Samantha Carter, the theoretical astrophysicist, smartest person on Earth, and woman of Jack O'Neill's dreams, walked through the door.

Jack watched as a man came up to her, asking if she was looking for someone. He kept his eyes on her as she was led to his table. She stopped in front of him and Jack couldn't help but look at her. Memorizing everything about the amazing woman in front of him.

Sam was wearing a black dress that fell to her knees and a pair of black heels, showing off her oh-so-long legs. On her wrist was a silver bracelet Teal'c had given her as a Christmas present. The thin silver bracelet was links of the Earth point of origin. It might be odd to most people, but it wasn't considered a security risk. She was wearing a pair of small diamond stud earrings. Around her neck was a thin silver chain with an emerald tear drop hanging from it. Jack smiled, Daniel had gotten it for her the first time she spent a birthday off-world. It was during a standard recon mission. Shortly after Daniel had given it to her, they were met by an angry mob and chased all the way to the stargate- Daniel never said what they were so mad about.

"What?" Sam asked him, bringing him out of his memory.

"Just remembering where you got that necklace," Jack replied, meeting her blue eyes. Amusement shone in her eyes as she sat down.

"Sorry I'm late, Jack," Sam said with a guilty look in her eyes.

"Don't be, Carter," Jack replied. Yes, he still called her Carter sometimes, but he kind of liked calling her Carter and Sam didn't mind, she liked it too. A waiter brought them glasses of wine.

"I know what it's like," Jack continued, watching as she took a sip of the white wine. "If you remember correctly, we work together."

"Really? I had no idea," Sam said with a smile. "But I guess it's a good thing, because I was planning on running away with one of the men on my team."

"A strong, handsome, witty colonel?" Jack asked with a smile that made Sam's heart stop momentarily.

Sam smiled. "No. A tall, dark, handsome guy. His name is Murray. We were planning on going to Maui for a few weeks."

Jack grinned. Sam running away with Teal'c to Maui had been a running joke for the past few months.

"So," he asked, still nervous, "uh, you hungry?"

"Very," Sam replied. "I haven't eaten since-" she cut herself off. Jack didn't need to know how long it had been since she had a decent meal.

"Since?" Jack asked, frowning slightly. He hadn't been on Earth for three days, since he had been off-world with Daniel, Teal'c, and SG-14. He also forgot to make sure she had eaten when he stopped by her lab.

"What are you planning on having?"

"Nice try, Sam," Jack replied. "How long?"

"I've been busy," Sam defended. "It doesn't matter."

Jack frowned and looked at her. She didn't look pale, and only slightly tired. "Alright. But if I find out that you haven't eaten at all in the past three days…"

"Of course I have, Jack," Sam replied. "What have you been doing the past few days? I haven't seen Daniel or Teal'c all day."

"We were at a celebration feast today," Jack said. He grinned. "Danny boy got drunk. Apparently their alcohol makes one hell of a hangover."

Sam laughed. "Sorry I missed it."

"You should be. Daniel danced and sang Jaffa songs with T," he informed her with a smile.

They ordered their food and Jack told her every embarrassing detail of what Daniel did while they ate. Jack was becoming less and less nervous as the night wore on. The topic turned to what Sam had done, Jack not understanding a word of it, but he knew she needed a sounding board.

That's another thing that had changed. At work he would still cut her off early. But if she was talking about something when they were at home he let her go on about strange doohickies that were frustrating her. He didn't really like it, but the look in her eyes when she suddenly had a break through was worth it. And she was really cute when she frowned as she talked. Jack thought it was funny when she asked him questions. He would give her answers like 'sure' 'yeah, sure, yabetcha' 'uh…' and occasionally 'do you really want me to answer that' and 'I have no idea.' Sam would then either glare or smile- depending on her mood- and say that she was 'thinking out loud'.

They talked about the past three days, sometimes falling into comfortable silence.

When their dinner plates had been taken away Jack got the attention of the owner of the restaurant, who was the brother of an old war buddy, and gave him a slight nod. The owner nodded in return and talked to their waiter.

"Sam," Jack said, taking one of her hands in his.

"Jack," she replied, taking a sip of wine with her right hand.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" he asked, looking into her eyes. Sam blushed and looked down, he was still staring at her. He loved how modest she was.

"Thank you," she said, looking back at him. He had a smile on his face. It wasn't a full blown smile. Just a hint of one, and it was all he needed to do to effectively stop her heart. Or melt it. Either way.

"I love you, Jack."

"I love you, too, Samantha." Sam looked surprised, he rarely ever called her by her full name. He took her other hand. "You're amazing and I don't deserve you."

"Jack," Sam said warningly. "We've already had this discussion. I love you and it'll take more than being a pain in the ass to keep me away."

Jack grinned, squeezing her hands. "Just checking."

Before Sam could reply, a waiter came by and placed a plate with a silver cover over it in front of Sam and also one in front of Jack. The colonel nodded his thanks and the waiter left.

"Jack?" Sam asked warily. They hadn't ordered desert. Something was up, she could sense that much.

"Sam?" he asked in reply. She tried to make out if he was up to something. His eyes were filled with love and a hint of amusement with the smallest speck of anxiousness. Something was definitely up.

"I have something I need to ask you," Jack admitted.

Sam froze. That was a very serious tone. Very serious. But he wouldn't? Not here, in public. No. He wasn't about to propose to her. This was _way_ too cliché for a Jack O'Neill proposal.

"Sam?" Jack asked.

"Yes?"

"You want desert?"

Sam blinked. He had her on edge because he wanted to know if she wanted desert? Okay, she was _way_ to tense.

_Calm down Sam,_ she thought to herself as Jack removed the silver cover off her plate. _You need to relax. There's no way he…_ Her thoughts died off as she stared at the plate.

In the middle of the small silver platter was a black box, open to reveal a ring.

"Holy Hannah," Sam managed.

Jack smiled as Sam's eyes widened and used the familiar phrase. He was still holding onto her left hand and felt the muscles tense.

Her breathing, when she started again, was slightly ragged. Her eyes were glued to the ring. A silver band that had a round sapphire. It was a beautiful stone. It wasn't a dark blue, but it wasn't light either. Somewhere in the middle. It looked familiar.

Sam wondered for a second what was going on. Diamonds were used for engagement rings. Jack knew that. He also knew that she liked diamonds. So what was with the sapphire? Was she taking this the wrong way? Maybe he wasn't proposing…

Jack watched the wheels get to work in Sam's mind. He gave her time to let her amazing brain process what her gorgeous eyes were seeing. He saw the uncertainty cross her face and she looked up to him.

"Jack?" she asked. She didn't ask 'are you doing what I think you're doing' but he could see the question in her eyes. Jack reached over and took her right hand, so that he was holding both of them again.

"I know that you don't have anything against diamonds," Jack started, staring at her hands. Sam's breathing became increasingly irregular and he looked into her eyes. "But, right after he gave me that, Jacob said your mother did." He paused. "I guess what I'm trying to ask is… Samantha Carter… Will you marry me?"

Sam's breath hitched in her throat. She looked down at the ring. Marriage.

Jack waited. He could wait, he wasn't nervous. Sam's just thinking it through. Processing everything he told her. She does that, remember? Sam looked up at him.

"You, uh… don't have to say yes," Jack said uncomfortably. "You don't have to say no either… I, uh, mean that you don't have to give me an answer. I know you'll probably want some time to think about it and everything… so, um…" He let the sentence die.

Sam smiled and ducked her head, looking at the ring. Her mother's ring. Time, he had said. He would give her time. Jack knew she would want to think it over. He knew she wasn't used to making quick decisions when it came to personal relationships. He knew _her_.

Sam looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes."

Jack's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Yes," she repeated.

"Yes?"

"Yes I will marry you, Jack O'Neill," Sam said. Tears were in her eyes and she seemed torn between laughing and crying, that 10,000 mega watt smile radiating happiness and love.

Jack took the box from Sam and took out the ring. Then, holding it in one hand and Sam's hand in another he slowly slide it up her ring finger, his eyes were watching the ring.

He paused mid-way and looked up at Sam.

"Are you sure about this, Carter?" He asked. "I can be a pain in the ass. I'm not the easiest guy to live with."

Sam laughed and nodded. "I know, Jack, I work with you. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"So you're sure?"

"I'm sure," Sam answered, a smile still on her face.

He slide it the rest of the way and looked up into the face of his fiancée.

When Sam smiled that 10,000 mega watt smile that was just for him, Jack O'Neill knew he was the luckiest man in the universe.

A/n- hope you liked it! Please review. Tell me if you liked it… or if you didn't. I can take it! :D


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